Daily Digest

Lamar Avenue Motel Sells for $1.3 Million

The former Best Western Travelers Inn at 5024 U.S. 78 (Lamar Avenue) in Oakhaven has sold for $1.3 million.

Radha Hospitality LLC bought the 24,864-square-foot motel in a May 2 warranty deed from Anil N. Shah and P.V. Shah, who acquired the property in 1991 for $210,000 and developed the land.

Built in 1994, the motel sits on 5.8 acres along the east side of U.S. 78 just south of its intersection with East Shelby Drive.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal was $500,000.

In conjunction with the purchase, Radha Hospitality filed a $1.2 million deed of trust through the seller. Satish J. Patel signed the deed as managing member of Radha Hospitality.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Rock'n Dough to Open in University Center

Rock’n Dough Pizza Co. is opening a new restaurant near the University of Memphis.

The Memphis-based pizzeria has signed a 1,225-square-foot lease on first-floor space at Loeb Properties’ University Center, 3445 Poplar Ave.

This will be the third storefront location for Rock’n Dough owner Jeremy Denno, who also sells pizza out of his food truck at the Memphis Farmers Market. Denno opened his first Rock’n Dough at 1243 Ridgeway Road in Loeb’s Park Place Centre, and the second location recently opened in the Jackson Walk development in Jackson, Tenn.

Rock’n Dough offers whole and by-the-slice hand-tossed pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven, along with salads and sandwiches. The University Center location will offer extended hours and a drive-thru.

– Amos Maki

Frontier Airlines Adding Memphis Flights

Frontier Airlines announced Tuesday, May 13, that it is adding four weekly flights between Memphis International Airport and Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.

The new flights will run on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday beginning Sept. 8 and are a result of strong passenger response to Frontier’s initial flights between Memphis and Denver, which began in March.

“This is a key development in our efforts to expand our frequent and affordable air service at (Memphis International),” said Scott Brockman, president and CEO of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority. “Washington, D.C., is one of our most popular destinations, and these flights provide our passengers with a new low-cost option.”

Frontier’s expansion of service follows announcements last week by American Airlines/US Airways and United Airlines that they are adding new daily flights at Memphis International.

United is adding a daily flight to Denver, and American Airlines/US Airways is adding a daily flight to Chicago and Dallas.

– Amos Maki

County Commission Delays Development Vote

The Shelby County Commission did not vote Monday, May 12, on a planned development by First Citizens Bank at Austin Peay Highway and Millington-Arlington Road because the commission was forced to adjourn for lack of a quorum before it could vote on the item.

It will be back on the agenda for a vote at the commission’s June 2 meeting.

It takes seven of the 13 commissioners to constitute a quorum for a voting meeting. The commission, which had 12 of its 13 members present at the beginning of the session, lost its quorum after a lengthy debate about approving the tax sale of an apartment complex at 2238 Howell Ave. in North Memphis for $150,000.

The leader of the nonprofit that lost the property in the tax sale had wanted to speak to the commission before the vote, but Chairman James Harvey said he lost the card she filled out to speak.

She spoke in tears after Commissioner Justin Ford unsuccessfully moved to reconsider the decision. That’s when the commission lost its quorum.

Commissioner Heidi Shafer, who left for a conference call with leaders of the local firefighters union just before Ford’s reconsideration motion, said she is exploring a possible reconsideration of the item at the next commission meeting.

– Bill Dries

UCAN’s Robinson Wins Service Award

Leshundra Robinson, co-founder and president of nonprofit youth mentoring organization UCAN Memphis, has received the Walking into a New Life Inc. SIS (Surviving in Silence) award.

Robinson recently received the award in a ceremony at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. The event, co-hosted with Successful Single Moms Memphis, is held in celebration of resilient single mothers who have overcome adversity while giving back to the community. This was the fourth year for the awards.

Democratic Leader Urges Meth Bill Veto

The Democratic leader of the state Senate is urging Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to veto his own legislation to limit the purchase of cold and allergy medicines used to make illegal methamphetamine.

Sen. Jim Kyle of Memphis on Monday said the bill passed by the Legislature did not go far enough to put a dent in makeshift meth labs around the state.

The bill awaiting the governor's signature would require a prescription to obtain more than 28.8 grams of pseudoephedrine per year, which is the equivalent of about five months' worth of the maximum dosage of medicines like Sudafed.

Haslam and the Senate had earlier supported a version of the bill that would have set a 14.4-gram annual limit but ultimately agreed to the House plan featuring the looser restrictions.

– The Associated Press

US Businesses Boost Stockpiles in March

U.S. businesses increased their stockpiles in March, and sales increased by the largest amount in 10 months.

Stockpiles rose 0.4 percent after a 0.5 percent rise in February, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Sales in March jumped 1 percent, the largest advance since May, after a 0.9 percent increase in February.

Both months represented a solid rebound after a 0.9 percent sales decline in January that was blamed in part on the harsh winter weather.

The two months of sizable gains in sales should encourage businesses to keep restocking to meet rising demand. That would mean increased orders to factories and rising production, which would lead to stronger economic growth.

Many economists expect growth to rebound significantly in the second quarter after slowing sharply in the first.

Inventories held by wholesalers increased 1.1 percent in March, while those held by manufacturers edged up a tiny 0.1 percent. Inventories at the retail level were unchanged.